Love is Immortal
by Aeronnen
Summary: She was captured outside Jao e Tinukai'i. Now she has been taken to the city of the Sithi, to come before those of the House of Year Dancing. But maybe the immortals will learn something from her as well. JirikiOC. Spoilers for all the books. Enjoy!
1. Chapter 1: Aldheorte

Ok, I love Tad Williams and Jiriki so here is my fic on Jiriki! I really hope that Tad Williams can be revived a bit.

I really hope you enjoy!!

Her name is said MY-are-uh.

Chapter One.

Aldheorte.

The echoing sounds of angered humans rang through the ancient dells and groves of Aldheorte. Their torches flicked and blazed fiercely, enjoying the chase. The girl, or young woman, that they pursued ran raggedly on, only a little way in front of them.

Branches with twigs like claws dragged at her face; uneven stones, covered in soft, thick moss tripped her stumbling feet and the cuts all over her pale, exhausted face were oozing blood; some were already scabbing over, others stung like fly-bites.

Eventually she stopped, the noises of pursuit fading. She had taken a little-known path through an ancient grove of other creatures long lost from the face of Osten Ard. It was well hidden. She sat on a large rock and gasped despairingly for a while. When her breath came back, she leant against a tree trunk and looked around with bleary eyes.

There wasn't much to see. A few large boulders sat half-buried in the damp ground that surrounded the more central parts of Aldheorte. The trees trailed lichen and a tiny trickle of water showed in small pockets among the moss.

The sound of hoarse and angry shouts echoed through the stillness of the forest. The girl's head shot up and she stared in the direction the shout had come from. She waited a moment, but no other noise disturbed the little grove.

Maiara pulled her knees to her chest and leant her head on her knees easily, she had always been very supple, and drew a great shuddering breath of despair and began sobbing, quietly at first, but soon the noise of her sorrow echoed through the silent trees.

--

A while later she looked up, remembering were she was. The glade had not changed and the sounds of the hunt were long gone; no one would come for her now. Not now her father had gone – died or left her – she didn't know.

Maiara jumped lightly off the boulder and carefully knelt by the little muddy puddles of water. She cupped the water and brought it to her lips, it was warm and tasted of silt and leaf mulch but it was good to drink anyway.

After she had drunk her fill, she stood, surveying the wood. There was nowhere to go and the sun was very well hidden. Which way was east? Maiara felt despair and panic tugging at her, coiling in her stomach. Her people did not like the woods, feeling them unsafe and full of mystery and dark, forbidding things. She could not go back, she knew that, but nor did she have any other place to go.

Maiara glanced upwards; the sun was still elusive, the dull grey autumn clouds obscuring the sky. The girl looked at the dark fringes of the rest of Aldheorte. It was silent, and unlikely to yield anything for her. So where would she go? Perhaps if she aimed left, towards the northern part of the forest, she would come out in Erkynland. There she would surely be able to find work, and people who would not drive her out for being different, though the latter seemed unlikely. _Everyone _drove her out or hunted her down. Only her father had protected her before and now he had gone.

Maiara sighed and headed, slowly, hating herself and yet drawing on her courage, into the deeper parts of the forest. This time she went slower, being careful of the hidden rocks and little gully's filled with murky water.

A few hours later, she noticed dusk coming quickly. Maiara looked around. There were few places to shelter. Where would she go? Autumn was not a kind season, but a few berries were left on the shrubs.

There was a group of silver birches near to her and the space between them was enough for her to sleep curled up in. Maiara took her tattered woollen cloak off, laying it on the ground. She lay on the edge of it then folded the other side over her. Because of the triangle shape of the cloak, it didn't cover her very well, but it it was better than nothing.

She lay, muscles clenched unconsciously, trying to ignore the growling of her stomach. She knew sleep would be a long time coming, even though she had been on the move all day; it was.

--

Maiara pulled her foot out of the squelching mud, shaking her head to get rid of the little mosquitoes biting at her skin and her already bleeding skin . She had been dragging her feet, tired after another day's worth of trekking through the forest, and so had not noticed the mud-hole lying in wait for her.

"Ugh," she said in disgust. The foul, stinking mud oozed down her leg and the horrid feel of it on her skin, lumpy bits between her toes, made her shudder.

She stared around her. There was, this time, really nowhere for her to spend the night. What was she going to do?

Maiara felt the panic rise up in her chest again. She had obviously been going the wrong way through Aldheorte. She would probably never find her way out of the trees, she would be left as a little wandering spirit, lost forever. The idea made her shiver and she tried to push the unwanted thoughts from her mind. Now was not the time. She would never find her way to Erkynland now.

She sank down on some relatively dry ground and put her head in her hands. She didn't cry; she was slightly beyond tears, but she felt hopelessness engulf her. Dry sobs racked her thin, wiry frame and her legs and arms trembled with exertion.

"Stand still and still do not draw your weapons. You are surrounded." The quiet, yet dangerous voice rang through the trees. Maiara looked up, shocked and frightened. A group of people stood around her, beautiful, though delicate bows trained on her. There were five of them, yet they weren't - _couldn't _– be human. Maiara raised her dirt-streaked face and stared incredulously. They were thin, all with different coloured hair; some were red, some pure white and other's deepest black. Five pairs of amber-gold eyes stared were looking at her, hard and unemotional.

"Wha -what?" she managed, heart clenching.

"What are you doing here, mortal woman?" one asked. He had fiery red hair and clothes of bright scarlet. "You are on the lands of the Sithi. You are trespassing." He spoke the common tongue with a careful precision.

She stared at them, disbelieving. She had stumbled on the Sithi! The ones who had saved Osten Ard in the ice-war, who had fought for the High King Seoman! Maiara tried to explain. "They – the villagers, chased me, wi – with dogs and -" she shrugged hopelessly.

The spokesman looked at her carefully, his golden gaze piercing. "Look at me, mortal," he said. She reluctantly raised her eyes to stare him in the eyes. The Sitha looked into her eyes, then his own widened and the rest of his companions shifted restlessly. Maiara wondered what was wrong with them. Surely the immortals weren't afraid of a mortal like her?

"Where do you come from, young one?" asked the one standing next to the red-haired one.

_Young one? _Thought Maiara, _that is more polite than 'mortal'._ Out loud, she said; "A small village near Wealdhelm; we breed - _bred _horse for the High King."

"Why have you come here, then?" asked the leader.

She ducked her head. "My – the people drove me out," she whispered. The Sitha heard, but he did not press her any further. Instead he turned to the one behind him and talked quietly with him for quite a while.

Eventually the Sithi turned back to her. "We are taking you to our city, where you will be judge by the House of Year-Dancing."

"What?" asked Maiara tiredly.

"You are a trespasser on out lands. We will blindfold you and take you to our city." said red-hair. "We are sorry to inconvenience you, but you must come."

The black-haired Sitha stepped forward and draped a soft black cloth over her eyes. "We will guide, you do not worry. You are safe with us." He took her hand in his cool one, and gently steered her away from the boulder she had been sitting on. The other Sithi quietly followed, some overtook them, the rest stayed behind.

A short while later, the Sithi raised their voices in a gentle, yet powerful, song:

_The Butterfly has left her home;_

_Her flowers now have withered;_

_Her children lie in hard cocoon,_

_Awaiting springs first touch. _

The sound of the scratchy wing lessened slightly; Maiara wonder what was happening.

_The leaves of the white trees,_

_Have faded and died;_

_But inside their branches,_

_The sap still runs fast. _

Now the trees rustled in a warm wind; birds chirped and called.

_The fish in the stream;_

_Have found warmer waters;_

_But in our fair home;_

_They will not go._

The Sithi stopped. Someone undid her blindfold and she blinked in the sudden bright light. She was standing in front of a huge old elm; it's branches spread, some were complicatedly twined together, others lifted to the sky. A carpet of golden and scarlet leaves lay about them.

"You are come to the Gate of Autumn Gold. Be honoured, no other mortal has entered through our finest and most beloved gate." Red–Hair spoke in a brittle voice, but it did not stop her from asking one question.

"Why have you brought me as prisoner here, then?"

Red-Hair looked at her, staring her in the eyes, betraying no emotion. It was Black-Hair who answered.

"It is the wrong time of year for us to use any other gate. And we are not used to prisoners, either."

Red-Hair said as well; "You must be taken to those of the Year-Dancing house. Follow me, please." He walked to the Gate. It opened silently, the branches untwining to admit entrance. Maiara gasped at what she saw.

A river of the most pure blue ran to the companies left; on their other side, a grove of tall, slender birches grew, exotic birds roosting in their branches. A few other Sithi were bathing in the river, naked. Maiara looked away, embarrassed.

The Sithi were following a white track of fine dust down into a valley. She heard Black-Hair behind her and hurried to keep up with the others.

When they reached the edge of the valley, Maiara gasped. Below them, what seemed to be a boat of many coloured sheets and cloths were suspended above the valley. The cloth shimmered and shifted, yet for all that, it seemed solid as a granite-cliff. There were few Sithi to be seen between the shifting sheets. Red-Hair was still following the dusty path, but Black-Hair was behind as the rear-guard.

They entered what could be called a street, though beautiful animals passed her, some only slunk into the bushes when the party was right on top of them. A few Sithi strolled along the paths, their golden, catlike eyes lazily following the crocodile of Maiara's company. Maiara felt unnerved by their stares and kept her eyes on Red-Hair's back.

They came to a tent-like place; the centre pole was fifty feet high, and the cloth was the most shimmering, dancing, bright cloth she had so far seen in the Sithi-city. Two guards, wearing light but intricate armour, stood outside the tent-building.

"We come to see Likimeya i'Sonserei. We bring a mortal prisoner." Red-Hair said to the guard. Maiara did not like the sound of that. The guard let them pass and they entered the tent.

Maiara gasped again, but her breath caught in her chest. Many butterflies floating lazily, shimmering near the top of the the tent, others rested on the bright flowers that grew from the cool ground. Maiara was overwhelmed, and her eyes blurred with overcome tears. Black-Hair took her elbow and guided her to a rise in the centre of the tent at the bole of the tent-pole – which, Maiara realised, was actually an ancient elm-tree.

Two thrones sat on the rise. One was empty, the seat unfilled, but the other chair was occupied by a Sitha. Maiara could see, even from a distance, the gleam of her coppery-red hair.

Black-Hair and Red-Hair knelt in front of the thrones. Maiara just stood, not knowing what to do, though she did not think she would have been able to kneel anyway; her weariness, which had abated while they travelled through the Sithi-city, had returned.

She looked through tired lids at the Sitha-woman. Her hair was indeed copper-red. Her golden eyes surveyed the group. Maiara felt as though she was being put through a test, though she did not meet the Sitha's eyes.

"Mortal woman, you now come before Likimeya i'Sonserei, Lady of the House of Year- Dancing," said Black-Hair.

Maiara felt her knees give way. She dropped to the clover-scented floor, looking down at the small flowers that studded the grass.

Likimeya studied the girl, then spoke in a rich voice, though it seemed agonizingly sad. She sounded as if she was grieving. "Look at me, manchild."

Maiara did not resist. She lifted her chin to look into Likimeya's golden eyes. Likimeya stared onto her own eyes for a moment. Her eyes widened, then she looked away, at Black-Hair.

"Mar'nai, why have you brought her? Jarna could tell me nought."

Red-Hair, now named Mar'nai, answered. "We found her wandering about, dangerously near to our borders. And you can see for yourself..." Mar'nai trailed off. A voice from beside Likimeya spoke.

"Yes, we can, thank-you, Mar'nai." Another Sitha had appeared. Maiara looked at him. He had a strange, heather-purple colour hair and grey beads were woven into his hair. Her wore light breeches and a thin shirt. Maiara stared unashamedly at him. "Where do you come from, lady?" he asked.

He seemed younger than the other Sithi and it was possible to see, behind his golden gaze, a bubbling fountain of energy mixed with great wisdom.

"Gratima. A small village near Wealdhelm. They – they chased me out because of – of my..." Maiara was reluctant to say this; what if the Sithi drove her out as well? Or worse, what if they killed her?

"Your what, lady?" asked Heather-Hair. He seemed to be looking at her kindly, though it was very hard to tell, especially to one who had never see the Sithi before this day.

"Because of my eyes, Sir," she whispered, unable to think of any higher term to give him. She would rather talk to him than Likimeya, though. She seemed hard and brittle as Rimmersgard iron, the Lady of the House of Year-Dancing.

Heather-Hair looked at her expressionlessly. Another Sitha joined in. "She is tired. We should let her sleep before asking all these questions."

Maiara looked for the owner of this voice. Another Sitha-woman, this one also with heather-purple hair, greatly resembled Likimeya. She wore few clothes, only a thin wisp of cloth around her waist. Maiara felt embarrassed.

Likimeya considered this; " Mar'nai, is she dangerous?"

"No," answered her guide,"she cannot use the Art and has no weapons."

"Very well. Aditu, Jiriki, come here please." The two heather-haired Sitha's went to her chair.

"You know most about mortals, son, and I wish you to care for her." Likimeya said carefully. "She is ... like nothing I have ever heard of, and I think you could care for her well. A new room is being added to your house for her now," she turned to the woman. "Aditu, you are welcome to help her, as a fellow female. I ... I will think on this and consult the other Houses when the butterflies next settle."

"Yes mother," Jiriki said quietly, showing no emotion. Aditu smiled, showing white teeth and echoed her brother.

"Let us go, Willow-switch," said Aditu, "your ward awaits you."

Maiara stayed where she knelt, exhausted. She felt, rather than heard, others approaching. She looked up and found herself looking at Heather-Hair. She recoiled in shock.

"I am sorry, lady," he said carefully. "Did I scare you?" he said it with a careful sincerity that mortals could never manage.

"I – yes – no," she gasped.

"Ah, I have, I am sorry," he gently put out his arms and raised her up from the ground. "I am Jiriki no'Sonserei, of the House of Year-Dancing."

"O-oh," she said weakly, "I am – I am Maiara."

He smiled a feral, but not scary, smile. "I am honoured. This," he gestured to the other heather-haired one, "is Aditu i'Sonserei, also of the House of Year-Dancing. She is what mortals would call my sister."

Aditu also smiled at her, but she bounced on the balls of her feet and made complicated hand gesture on her breast. "Hurry up, Willow-switch. She is tired. We must go to your house."

Jiriki nodded. "You are right, Rabbit. Let us go." He held Maiara's arm. She leant gratefully on it, though she could not help wondering why she was so readily trusting an immortal, someone of a different race. But there was something very trustworthy about Jiriki – and his sister too, though she seemed younger - and she was too tired to do anything anyway.

They were leaving the tent, and Jiriki turned his golden face to her. "You have been in the Yasira, the Throne Room, you would say in the mortal tongue. Though I do not know how much Mar'nai told you?"

It seemed to be a question; "Not – not much, Sir."

Jiriki made a fluttering of his hands. "Please, call me Jiriki. So you do not know where we are?"

"A Sithi city, sir – Jiriki." said Maiara quietly.

"One of them," he said, nodding. "This Jao e-Tinukai'i, the summer-city of the Sithi. Here winter is not so powerful. It is also known as The Boat on the Shallowest Sea by some." Jiriki gestured at the shimmering cloth. "It is the largest of all our cities, though many now lie lost among the wastes of land where they once flourished."

Maiara clutched at Jiriki as she stumbled over a root on the path. Behind her, Aditu stepped daintily over it. "Are you all right, Maiara?" he asked, concerned.

"I am fine, thank-you, I'm just – just tired," she said quickly.

"I told you, Willow-switch!" Aditu said. "Jarna said that she had been travelling long when they caught her."

Jiriki cast what could have been worried glance at her. "When did you last eat, Maiara?"

"Oh! Um, two – three days ago, maybe." Maiara said, unwilling to tell.

"Ah, Willow-switch, we seem to be in the habit lately of picking up mortals in the forest!" said Aditu. "Even though Seoman was your_ Hika Staja."_

"It seems that Maiara was in much the same position as Seoman," answered Jiriki.

The name registered dimly in Maiara's numb brain. "Se – Seoman?"

"Ah, yes, he is now your High King ," said Jiriki. Maiara gaped in numb astonishment. _King Seoman?! _

Jiriki interrupted her thoughts. "We are here." They were outside yet another Sithi-house but this one was Jiriki's. "You now have a room here," he said.

Inside was a delicate fireplace, it looked like it was seldom used, and a small main chamber with a table and vase of pretty blue lilies. Three other doors led off from the room.

"I will say goodnight, Willow-switch," said Aditu. "I will come tomorrow." Aditu left, treading lightly on the fallen leaves outside. Jiriki turned to Maiara.

"Your room is here." He led her through the third door and they entered together. It was a warm room, lightly furnished with thick rugs and a bed stood in a the middle, quite large and fleece blankets lay on the quilt.

"Ah, good. A bed," Maiara said vaguely. The fatigue, shock and horror of the last few days was slowly coming down around her. She fell into the mattress. Her last conscious image was Jiriki staring down at her, in what seemed to be a concerned expression. She slept with strange, but wonderful, dreams.

--

Please review!!!!!! Even if you aren't logged in, an anon one is fine, just let me know what you think!!!!


	2. Chapter 2: Old Sadnesses

The hugest of thank – you's to Ithannon and and Alex who read and reviewed! I'm glad you enjoyed and your reviews made me ecstatic.

Chapter Two.

Maiara yawned and stretched. She cuddled down underneath the blankets and nestled into the soft pillows ... very soft pillows ... Surely her pillows and quilts at home had never been this soft ...

Maiara snapped open her eyes to see a golden–brown face staring at her. She yelped and struggled with the many blankets on her bed. She couldn't extract herself from them and as she writhed, the edge of the bed came nearer and nearer until...

"Ouch."

"Maiara? Are you all right?" The golden face bent down to her, and she remembered.

"Jiriki!" she said from amidst the blankets on the floor. "What are you doing?"

"I thought you would be up by now," he made twisting gesture on his chest. "My Root and Bough, my sister, will be coming soon."

"O-oh," she said. Why was he telling her this?

"She will bring some clothes for you, if you wish it," he said, cocking his head to one side.

Maiara looked down at herself, seeing for the first time that she had slept in her already dirty and tattered clothes. Her cloak, however, had been laid gently and folded and lay on a carved chair near the bed. "Oh. Yes, please."

He dipped his head, "Aditu will bring some clothes with her, then. There is food, when you want it."

"Thank-you, Jiriki." she said.

He nodded gain, a strange, fluid movement. As he moved to the door, he stopped as though struck with a sudden thought. He turned back to her. "There is a wash-room, if you want to wash."

"Is there?" she asked, "where?"

"In the next room," he seemed to hesitate. "I will show you."

"Thank-you. I would like that." Maiara struggled out of the blankets, like a rabbit emerging from it's burrow on the first day of spring. A strong hand grabbed her hand and pulled her up. When she was standing again, she looked up at Jiriki. He was a half-head taller than her, and the loose blue shirt he wore showed his muscles. "Thank-you," she muttered, meeting his eyes quickly, then looking back at the floor.

"You are welcome." Jiriki was still looking at her intently, though she wasn't uncomfortable. "The wash-room is here." He indicated through the door of her bedroom.

"I – thank-you," she looked back down at her feet.

Jiriki went through the door, and Maiara followed him. They were in the room with the blue lilies and carved table. Jiriki showed her through another door. This one had a small ante-chamber leading through to another room, this one with a smooth wooden basin, carved lightly on the sides, it was deep enough for two people to sit in; two holes in the side were just above the rim.

"Open these," he said quietly, indicating the vents, which had covers on them, " and the water will come. This is cold," he touched the left one lightly, "and this is hot. There will be clothes waiting for you." he murmured and left her.

Maiara looked a little distrustfully at the basin and slowly reached out to the vent on the hot water. Immediately, water gushed out; it was scalding hot and she withdrew her hand quickly. The water was filling the basin quickly, so she let some cold water out as well.

When it was full, she stripped off her filthy clothes quickly and cautiously sat down in the water. Se nearly instantly relaxed. It was so good to feel clean and safe again!

Maiara found a bar of fragrant creamy soap and washed herself thoroughly. Much, much better than the cold bucket of water used at home. She scrubbed that dirt from her body and lathered the soap into her hair; it had once been white, but the years of living in a small primitive village had made it more of a grey or dirty white.

Ten minutes later and Maiara got out, relatively clean. She let the water out and wrapped one of the soft towels around her. In the little Ante-chamber, a small pile of bright cloth awaited her. She lifted them up.

_What...?_ she thought. There was a tiny dress of bright orange, a sash of sky-blue and nothing else. What was she supposed to wear? And how?

Frowning, Maiara considered the clothes, if clothes they were. She could _not _wear them. She would just have to put her old clothes back on. Sighing a little, she pulled the old black clothes on.

Maiara opened the door to the main hall cautiously. Where would Jiriki be? But the question answered itself.

"Maiara?" he was sitting at his table. "Did you not find the clothes?"

She bit her lip. Would he think she was ungrateful? "I – I'm sorry, Jiriki, I don't mean to be ungrateful, but I don't think I can wear those clothes, they're – they're..."

Jiriki held up a hand. "Think nothing of it, Maiara. Seoman was not comfortable with our ways either." He frowned a little; at least, that was what Maiara took it for. He only narrowed his eyes and cocked his head. "But you cannot stay in those clothes, though." he paused. "Perhaps there are some of mine I can find you."

"Oh, you don't have to, I – I'll be fine, I -" Maiara's protests trailed of quietly.

Jiriki made the frown-face again. "I do not wish to push you," he said slowly, "but I think it best if you have some of my clothes."

Maiara was again surprised by his polite sincerity. "It is very kind of you, Jiriki."

He held her gaze, amber eyes locked with hers. "Come, I will find you some." He went into the room next to hers and she followed cautiously.

The room was much like hers. A writing desk, seemingly well-used, sat in the corner. A white-flowered creeper entered his window slightly and the bed was the same size as hers, well covered with soft quilts and down pillows. He was looking in a wooden cupboard that had the look of a wardrobe.

He pulled out some material, then handed it to her. "I think you will be able to wear these comfortably," he said.

"Thank-you."

"Try them on here. The ones you don't use I will put back." Jiriki left, shutting the door behind him.

Maiara looked at the clothes. A dark green shirt, a deep blue one, and a pair of white breeches, and one other pair of breeches, these ones as dark green as the shirt. Maiara spent a moment in decision, then pulled on the white breeches and green shirt.

They were nice, she thought, though slightly big for her. The shirt was finer than anything she had ever seen and the breeches soft. Maiara left the room, folding the clothes neatly and leaving them on his bed. Back in the hall, Jiriki was once again sitting at his table. He turned to look at her.

"Are they all right?" He enquired.

"They are lovely, thank-you, Jiriki."

"It is nothing. Please, sit down. Are you hungry?"

Maiara suddenly felt her hunger. She hadn't eaten in a long time! "I am _very_ hungry."

Jiriki grinned his feral grin. "Well, I have plenty." He gestured at the only other chair, it was round the corner from him and, as Maiara marvelled, had a back. She took it gratefully.

"I do not know what you want. There is fruit, but we have little meat in Jao e-Tinukai'i." Jiriki said carefully.

"I will have _anything." _she said fervently. Jiriki's eyes sparkled, perhaps with amusement.

Maiara surveyed the food. There was a lot of exotic fruit, some dried strips of something and a flagon of some dark, cool liquid. "May I?" she confirmed.

"Of course."

Maiara smiled shyly at him and reached for the only fruit she knew the identity of; an orange. She devoured that as slowly as she could, so that he wouldn't think her greedy or piggish.

"What is this, please?" she asked, indicating a yellow-green fruit.

"It is mango," he said. "It is very special, we have it only in the first weeks of autumn."

Maiara made small 'O' with her mouth.

"It is very nice." continued the Sitha. "May I?" he asked for the mango. She nodded and gave to to him, wondering what he was going to do.

Jiriki deftly peeled it with a silver knife he had produced and then cut it into slices. "Here." he said and pushed the slices,on a delicate wooden plate, towards her.

Maiara took a slice and sucked it experimentally. Her eyes widened at the lovely taste. She quickly ate the rest of it. Jiriki's eyes sparkled again. She decided it must be laughter.

"You eat very quickly." he said.

Maiara swallowed the piece of mango she was chewing. Her cheeks flushed. "I'm sorry," she said, looking down at her plate.

Jiriki shook his head, though she didn't see. "No," he said gently. She still didn't look up. "Maiara," he touched her arm briefly, surprising her and making her look up and into his eyes.

"Maiara, I am sorry. I spoke wrongly and made you uncomfortable." She held his gaze, once again touched and taken aback by the sincerity of his voice.

She smiled shyly again, "It doesn't matter, Jiriki. But the mango _is_ nice."

His eyes sparkled and this time, his mouth curled a little. "You must have been hungry."

"I was." she said quietly. "But it doesn't matter, anyway."

He raised what may have been a surprised eyebrow, but said nothing. Maiara returned to his food, aware of his gaze on her, but it was not uncomfortable.

"What will you do today?" he asked eventually.

She turned her startled gaze on him. Jiriki saw her eyes were brightest green. "What do you - I mean - it's not -"

"Ah, I have discomfited you again." said Jiriki. He seemed genuinely sorry. "I seem to be very good at doing that."

Maiara laughed, but her food stopped her. She choked, looking desperately for some water, wine, anything! But there wasn't anything. Suddenly a cup shot out of nowhere. She took it quickly and gulped it down. Breathing deeply again, she put the beaker down.

"Better?"

She nodded, "yes. Thank-you for the – erm - drink."

"It was nothing."

"Well, thank-you anyway." she said. "What were you - What were you saying before I – um..." she trailed off.

"I was wondering what I was going to -" Jiriki broke off, his head cocked. Maiara listened as well. She heard two people walking up to Jiriki's house.

"Someone coming?" she asked him. He looked at her sharply.

"You can hear them?"

She nodded, but the voices of the visitors interrupted her.

"Skei'e, Aeleth Kendraja'aro!" a female voice said. Maiara thought it might be Aditu.

"Ika'la, Aditu, mei'ira canor amalfis." This was an unknown voice. Suddenly Maiara was afraid of meeting another Sitha. Jiriki and his sister were quite enough for her. And this newcomer didn't seem very friendly. Her fear of the other race returned a little and she gripped the table hard.

Jiriki looked towards the door, alert. A tall shape entered the house quickly, looking around. Jiriki was watching him raptly, a though he was an interesting specimen in the market that he had a mind to buy. The tall shape saw them and swiftly walked towards the table.

Jiriki rose. "Uncle Kendraja'aro," he said calmly. The other Sitha said nothing, though a vein bulged at his neck. "What can I do for you today?" Jiriki inquired politely. The other Sitha suddenly burst into speech.

"Shi'shei, shi'shei ma'lia! Ardila mae elika gerala Jao e-Tinukai'i!" the other Sitha, Kendraja'aro, continued to talk very fast and angrily in the Sithi tongue. Eventually, Jiriki held up his hand.

"Please, Uncle Kendraja'aro, do not speak so. My mother has agreed to this." Jiriki showed no emotion on his face. Aditu, standing behind her Uncle, was watching intently. Kendraja'aro looked furiously at Jiriki, though the only way Maiara could tell was that his eyes had narrowed and his breathing was harsh.

"Likimeya mae kirta endar? Derarra maya'al sedara ila kara mel'atr thi'ar breya!" Kendraja'aro said, speaking fast. This time, a flash of anger showed on Jiriki's face.

"Enough. I will speak no more on this. Talk to my mother when the butterflies next gather in the Yasira." Jiriki spoke with cold authority. Kendraja'aro stared at him angrily, then his eyes slid onto Maiara. He caught her gaze and she held it defiantly. Kendraja'aro was about to say something, perhaps he had noticed her borrowed clothes, but to her relief, he did not.

"Farewell, Son of my Sister," he said coldly and glided out of the house. Maiara watched him go with wide eyes.

"I tried to stop him," Aditu said to Jiriki. "But first Seoman, then Maiara, is too much for Uncle."

Jiriki made what might be described as a grimace. "Uncle has not been happy since Asu'a fell."

Aditu made an unhappy gesture on her breast. "I fear for him, though," she said. "I fear he may just let himself die, Willow-Switch. To fade away like the Woman of Ar'Tarran-Heights."

"I share you fear, Aditu," he said sombrely, "But it will always, and has always, been Uncle's choice."

"I know, Willow-Switch, I know." Aditu turned to Maiara. "Good morning, Maiara. Have you had a restful night?"

"I have, thank-you." she replied cautiously. She remembered the way she had woken up that morning and darted a look at Jiriki. He was watching her, though he caught her look and his eyes sparkled in the way she had come realise he showed laughter.

Aditu laid some purple flowers she held in her hand down on the table. "I have to go soon, Willow-Switch," she said, "but I will come by later."

Jiriki looked at her in slight surprise. "We will see you then, Rabbit."

"Please remember what I said about Uncle Kendraja'aro, Jiriki. He is not happy." Aditu said this sombrely, and she seemed preoccupied. "Good day."

"Goodbye Rabbit," Jiriki said just as solemnly.

Aditu left the house quietly and gracefully, her light dress fluttering in the soft breeze. Jiriki turned to Maiara. "Uncle Kendraja'aro does not like mortals. He violently opposed Seoman being here as well."

"What did he say?" asked Maiara, though she wasn't sure that she wanted to know.

"You are a mortal," said Jiriki, "and Uncle does not like that. He was at the fall of Asu'a, he fought the black iron. He saw Ineluki slay his own father, the Erl-king, and fled with Amerasu Ship-born. He has no reason to love the Sudhoda'ya." Jiriki was talking as if in a daze now, his thoughts on something from ages past.

"What do you mean?" Maiara felt her head swimming with strange names.

Jiriki turned his golden eyes on her. "Asu'a is the name of the castle you call 'Hayholt'. It was once our fairest city."

"The Hayholt..." Maiara had been there once or twice, to trade horses and buy yearlings that they couldn't breed or broodmares that were heavier than the chargers they bred. It was a beautiful city now; the pennants of the Duke of Elvritshalla, the bear proudly romping across the flag, the Kingfisher of Nabban and the Stag of Hernystir, and King Seoman and Queen Miriamele waving from the battlements of the Inner Bailey. It had been rebuilt after the War of Ice and Snow and was now fairer even than when King John Presbyter had ruled Osten Ard. "How...? she asked faintly.

Jiriki's eyes sparkled again. "It is a very long story," he looked at her carefully. "One that is best told when you are feeling stronger...it is not the pleasantest of stories either."

"I am strong enough!" she said indignantly. He sparkled at her again.

"I would rather tell you later, Maiara." he said, "but there are plenty of others I can tell you."

"Stories?" she looked at him calculatingly.

"They are more legends, true stories, about the Zida'ya, the Sithi. We have been here for many millennia." he stared at her meditatively. "Would you like me to tell you some?"

"I would like that very much, Jiriki."

Jiriki shot her another sharp look and watched her drink the rest of the dark liquid he had poured for her. Her eyes were light blue and the way she moved was reminiscent of a Sitha. Her movements were very graceful for a mortal and the way she did simple things, such as lift a plate, showed the way she resembled his sister or any other Sitha-woman in Jao e-Tinukai'i. "I would also like to tell you, Maiara."

She smiled, "I look forward to it." More at ease now, she ate the bread slower, picking small pieces off the main part then chewing it slowly. Jiriki watched her, though she seemed unaware of his gaze. She looked up and caught his eye.

"Jiriki?" she asked, "when are you going to tell me the story-legends, then?"

Jiriki felt himself wanting to smile again. "I will tell you them now." he looked about the room, then had an idea. "Shall we go into the garden it is beautiful outside."

"A garden?" he thought he saw a spark of interest. "That would be lovely."

"Let us go then." Jiriki stood and Maiara followed him. They went through a door towards the end of the house and out into the sunlight.

Maiara stood, heart swelling with the beauty of the place. A slope, fringed by slender birch trees, led down to a pond fed by silver-blue stream. Rushes framed the pond and bottom of the pond, perhaps four ells deep, was silvery white. Lilies floated on the gentle rippling water, their yellow centres housing birds and tiny insects. "Nant-yn-y-Cwm-Arian." said Jiriki. "The stream in the silver dell."

"It's beautiful." Maiara said wonderingly.

Jiriki smiled again. "Come." He took her elbow and led her down to the edge of the pond. A shallow seat, made of a dry, lightly carved log, and gestured for her to sit on it. She did and he sat next to her.

Maiara sat, looking out onto the glimmering pond, and waited for Jiriki to break the silence.

"I will tell you of the worm Hibohebdi, mother of all her spawn. She is the very bones of the earth, strong as stone, old as the land itself."

"You mean ... a dragon?"

Jiriki nodded. "I think your King Seoman could tell you more accurately about the thoughts of dragons." the Sitha paused, "he has survived what few others have."

"The white dragon he killed in the mountains?"

Jiriki nodded again. "Igjarjuk was his name and he was terrible. But, as the race of dragons go, he was far less mighty than his mother Hibohebdi." Jiriki fell silent, watching the smooth water. Maiara watched him.

His hair was past his shoulder and was braided complicatedly, but each braid was hung with grey pebbles. Some were shiny stones, in other places, shimmering grey cloths hung from his heather-blue hair. Sometimes his eyes seemed young, like a happy colt; at other times, they seemed as old as time, deep and thoughtful, full of hidden depths.

"How old are you, Jiriki?" she asked suddenly.

He seemed surprised by her question. "Old enough to be considered and adult among my people, but in others eyes, I am far to young to be trusted with tasks I am given."

"That's not a proper answer, Jiriki," she said, "how many _years_ old are you?"

His eyes sparkled, but his face remained expressionless. "I am ... I have Danced the Years End ..." he said it slowly as though trying to remember something not often though about, then continued. "I have Danced the Years End three hundred and ten times since I came of age."

Maiara sat still, mind shocked at the long ages Jiriki had lived.

He seemed to know how shocked she was and continued, eyes dancing. "But most of my family, like Uncle Kendraja'aro, think I am far too young to hunt or fight the way I do. I am considered young and impulsive."

Maiara laughed; it gave Jiriki a mild shock; she had not seemed the type to laugh and the way she laughed was very different from the Sithi. Sitha's laughed like water falling, or a nightingale singing. Maiara laughed like an young oak tree singing, knowing that it had a long and happy life in front of it.

"What do you find amusing, Maiara?" he asked, puzzled.

She quieted. "It's just ... three hundred years and you are considered young?" She shot a smiling look at him. "And although I have only know you since yesterday ... you seem to me, very conserved and careful. It just seemed so strange...different," she said quietly.

"We are an ancient race,Maiara, and I was born after the fall of Asu'a. And it is true that i can be prone to fits of impulsiveness." 

"When did one of those times occur, then?" she was still smiling.

Jiriki felt an unpleasant memory tugging at his mind. He had not thought about it in years. "We were ... laying siege to a castle held by the Norns, those you call the White Foxes. A spokesman was on the walls of the fortress, and was mocking us. I took my bow and shot him between his eyes. My mother and others were horrified I had done such a thing; I had broken a delicate etiquette." Jiriki fell silent.

"I'm sorry Jiriki. That ... was an unpleasant memory, wasn't it?" she said that softly.

"It is not something I like to remember," he said, startled. "We fought the Norns, our own family. It -" Jiriki stopped, gritting his teeth.

Maiara sighed. She had managed to upset him; the one who had been kindest to her for a long while. "I'm sorry, Jiriki." she said, "I've upset you."

He turned to her. "No Maiara, it was not your fault. I have not thought about that memory for a long time. But it was good to kill the ones who destroyed First Grandmother!"

Jiriki's eyes blazed fiercely.

"They killed your grandmother?" Maiara felt a twinge of empathy. "We have something in common, then." She hadn't meant to say it, it had just slipped out.

"What do you mean?" asked Jiriki, his face emotionless.

Maiara pulled her legs to her chest. "It is a long story, Jiriki, and not a legend like yours was."

Clutching at her elbows drawn tight around her, Maiara felt the sadness she had long ago forgotten rising inside her.

_A rush of voices, torches burning, men shouting. They were coming for her and her mother!_

"_Run Ellen! We will hold them off!"_

_The two men armed themselves with the pitchforks hanging on nails above a low beam. _

"_Erik! I'm not leaving you!" A woman cried. Maiara felt herself being lifted by someone old and frail._

"_You have to Ellen! Take Maiara and go! You as well Molly."_

_Maiara heard loud sobbing and the thin body that held her shook with the force of her grief. _

"_God bless!" someone called after them. The torches engulfed the stable, men swarmed over the fallen building._

_They had reached the cover of the trees, but there was a shrill whistling noise and the woman behind her stumbled. _

"_Mother!" the woman holding her cried. The small lady on the floor of the forest did not wake._

_Maiara's holder fell to the floor, dropping Maiara in the process, another arrow protruding from her back. Something hit Maiara and she heard a man's voice shouting. _

"_Ellen! Molly! **Ellen!**"_

_Maiara heard more sobbing, these ones belonged to a man, though, then safe, warm arms enveloped her. _

"_Oh, Maiara, my daughter! My daughter!"_

"_Maiara ..."_

Maiara returned to her surroundings briefly, Jiriki's concerned face in her vision, his strong arms around her waist, supporting her.

"Maiara?" he sounded vaguely panicky.

Maiara felt blackness tugging at her sight. She let it fold over, though in the blackness, she heard one last voice.

"_Maiara!"_

"_My daughter, my child..."_

Hope you enjoyed and if you read this PLEASE leave a review! I really, really want feedback and to know that you've read it and enjoyed it, (or not!)


	3. Chapter 3: Sharing Horrors

**Disclaimer: ****If I was Tad Williams, would I pretend to be from the teeny-weeny little country they call Wales? And would I spell in the Queens English? Unlikely. I know he has an imagination but ... Yep, very unlikely. **

Thank-you so much to Zita-01 and Kitty Invictus for reviewing - you are soooooo great and I'm glad you like it!

Chapter Three.

Sharing Horrors

_My daughter, my child!_

_Maiara!_

"Maiara. Maiara, wake up." A calm voice called, a hand on her shoulder. Maiara felt her dream slipping away. She opened her eyes. Jiriki was standing in front of her, looking down at her.

Someone came into her room and gave Jiriki a bowl; steam rose from the liquid within it. He sat on the bed, next to her. "Drink this. It will help clear away the thoughts from the Road of Dreams."

He helped her to sit up against the pillows and Jiriki, ever so gently, lifted the bowl to her lips. It was warm and tasted like lemon and something else ... honey?

"Good." Jiriki put the bowl down on the table next to her bed and sat watching her face. Maiara felt a memory tugging at her mind. She stared at the opposite wall, a scene playing in her minds eye.

"_Ellen! **Ellen!"**_

_A young woman with white hair was lying on the ground in front of her. An arrow, blue fletched with bronze, protruded from her back. _

_Maiara heard her voice, seeming very young; "Ma? Mama? Mama!" _

Maiara found herself looking at Jiriki. "Oh. Oh, mama!" She felt tears coming to her eyes and sadness overwhelmed her. She threw herself at the nearest thing – Jiriki – and wrapped her arms round his neck and sobbed into his shoulder.

Jiriki stiffened as he felt her wrap her arms around him. Aditu opened the door, holding another bowl of something for Maiara, but when she saw Jiriki and her, she immediately set down the bowl and left quietly.

Maiara sobbed and sobbed. It was such pain as she had never experienced before. "Mama," she choked into Jiriki's shirt. He, without thinking, curled his arms round her small waist and held her close, laying his cheek on her head.

She pushed her face into Jiriki's shirt, tightening her grip around his neck. Her tears were falling fast, soaking the front of the green material. "Dead," she choked, "all dead."

Jiriki pulled her closer, wanting to comfort her. "Maiara..." he said softly. She moved her head slightly. He sighed into her hair, finding that her hair smelt of grass and cut hay.

Maiara hugged him, the memory of her sudden flashback fading. "They're all dead, Jiriki," she choked out. "Killed in the stable...and the woods. Blue arrows. Dead." She murmured into his green shirt, now very damp from her tears.

Taking in her words, but resolving to ask her later, he reached for the bowl of hot liquid Aditu had brought in, but it was too far away for him to reach with her clinging to his neck. "Maiara," he said, gently trying to dislodge her arms. She wriggled discontentedly.

"No." she said. Jiriki stared down at her white head in amusement, though the memory of her screams of horror were still fresh in his mind.

Maiara leant her head against the Sitha's shoulder and relaxed a little bit. She felt him loosen his grip on her and lean back a little. "How are you feeling?" he looked at her red-rimmed eyes and tear-stained face.

"I'm -" she tried to suppress a yawn, unsuccessfully. "I'm fine."

"I think you should sleep," he said, "have some of the c_ara,_ the soup. It will help you to sleep." She was still leaning against his chest, an arm steadying herself, as she was still light-headed.

She nodded in agreement. "I don't think I will need help to sleep, Jiriki," she said with a small smile.

"Nevertheless, it will give you a dreamless sleep , and keep you off the Dream Road. It seems perilous at the moment ... for you, anyway."

She agreed and he, one arm still round her waist, lifted the bowl gently to her mouth. She drank it, and immediately felt sleepy. _It must be very potent,_ she thought, before her eyes closed and she felt sleep overtake her. Her last conscious remembrance was Jiriki gently lowering her down into the bed and drawing the covers up around her. Even as she slept, she could feel his hand on hers.

--

Jiriki watched her sleep. Her hair, grey when he had first seen her, was now snow-white and quite short, just to her neck, though it straggled little and was all different lengths. He couldn't understand why she had white hair like that. Surely it was not a normal colour for humans? There were a lot of things Jiriki did not understand about her, and he knew even less, but he enjoyed her company.

Her face was a little like a Sitha's, now he thought about it, thinner and paler, but not unhealthy. Her cheekbones were high, though, and her chin was rounded and strong, while her eyelashes were long. Like the Sithi, and yet – not like the Sithi.

Her hand, still hot from the mild fever she had, clutched at his own cool one. In her sleep, she groaned as the potion stopped her accessing the Road of Dreams. He did not know what had happened down by the pond, but it had terrified her. She had screamed like someone being tortured, then fallen silent, eyes wandering under her lids.

He had carried her in and sent for Aditu. She had prepared the potion, while he sat with Maiara, wetting her brow and doing what he could to make her more comfortable.

He had had to wake her when her breathing started rasping, so he had called her name, and she had miraculously woken. But she had dissolved into despairing and heart-wrenching sobs. He hadn't known what to do with her when she had hugged him, but it just came naturally to hold her close. And it had seemed to comfort her.

Jiriki looked down at her sleeping face. He stroked her hand gently. He would be there when she woke.

--

The sun was setting over Jao e-Tinukai'i when Maiara awoke again. She yawned, well rested and rolled over. Jiriki was sitting by her bed, and, she noticed for the first time, gently holding her hand, while Aditu stood next to him, talking quietly. Apparently she had finished, because she left the room quietly, leaving Jiriki behind. He stared after her with an unreadable expression on his face.

Maiara turned over fully to look at Jiriki, moving carefully; she felt a bit delicate. "Ugh," she grunted; Jiriki heard.

"Maiara!" She tried to sit up. "No," he placed his hands gently on her shoulders and pressed her back down, "you should lie down."

Maiara obediently lay back down. "Good morning to you as well."

He smiled. "It is sunset; you have slept long."

"That long?" she asked, dismayed. "Did I keep you from your business?"

Jiriki shook his head. "I have had no appointments today. And I would have cancelled them if I had," he said. Surprised by this, Maiara opened her mouth to ask something, but the door opened and Aditu entered, bearing a bowl of hot water and a towel.

"He has not left your side," she said quietly, a smile tugging at her lips. Maiara wanted to ask something about that as well, but Aditu continued. "Here is some water for washing. Go back to sleep when you can." And she disappeared again.

Blinking at her sudden departure, Maiara turned to Jiriki. He saw her look and his eyes sparkled at her again. "Aditu is in a hurry."

"So I saw," she said.

"Yes," Jiriki said more seriously, "she has been very ... busy for these last few moon-spans. I do not understand it, but," he said, as if to be clear on the subject, "I will not pry into my sister's life."

Maiara turned her head back to the centre of her pillow. "Did you – did you really stay with me?" She chanced a glance at him. His gaze was fixed on the vase of purple flowers on her table.

"I did," he said slowly. "But why do you ask?"

Caught, she gave a truthful answer. "I just ... didn't you would ... that anyone would."

Jiriki surveyed her through amber eyes. "Do you feel like telling me what happened?"

Maiara sighed, "I saw ... my mother ... and my grandparents and my father. Some people were attacking us; we were in a place like a stable. They killed my grandmother and grandfather and my mother." Maiara paused, remembering her vision. "She was very beautiful; she had white hair, all soft and warm; and she had tanned skin, not pale like me and father." Maiara was staring at the wall where a creeper was making it's sneaky way up her wall, and did not see Jiriki start at this. "She was called ... Ellen. She didn't want to leave him, but he told her to take me and go. But we didn't ... she was shot and then father found me."

Jiriki now was watching her intently, and it confused her. "What is wrong? Why do you not like me to talk about mother?" she cried. She felt aggressive; he was insulting her mother, her brave, beautiful mother!

He blinked. "I do not dislike you talking about your mother; you have given me much to think of."

"Like what?!"

"You, Maiara, are the most unusual thing ever to -" he stopped abruptly, then started again. "I must talk with my mother and the other Lords of the Zida'ya. The butterflies have gathered," he finished, as if this explained everything.

"Jiriki! That is _not _a proper answer!"

He stared at her. "When the butterflies gather, it means that great events are about to happen."

"What great events?" she asked, feeling as if there really was too much to take in.

"I cannot know ... but it could be you." Maiara froze, stunned, unable to comprehend what he meant.

"You're wrong; I can't be great event. Great events are wars or deaths or _some_thing, not people – and certainly not me!"

"Why not?" he said calmly.

"Because ... that's just ridiculous!" she exclaimed, annoyed at the way he seemed to be so calm.

"Maiara, why was your mother killed?"

She gaped at him. Was this some kind of cruel Sithi game? But no, Jiriki wasn't like that; he wouldn't, he had been good to her since she had first entered the Yasira. "My father wouldn't say. We lived in Hyrka when she died and then we fled to the Wealdhelm, and started collecting more horses to breed."

"He told you nothing?" His face was calm.

"He just said ... that the Hyrka-men didn't like her because she was foreigner."

"Where was she from?"

"I – I never thought to ask; it was too much of painful subject for him."

Jiriki, watching her closely, might have made a sympathetic face. "But why the people of Wealdhelm drive you out?"

Maiara swallowed, tired from her earlier tears. "A man came; a Rimmersman – Kraken Kaldskryke, he gave his name as; he was the son of a disgraced nobleman. He saw me in the village. He called me a faery demon and a devil's helper; he convinced the villagers that I was evil. One night he led that ambush and ..." Maiara felt a lump in her throat rise, but she fought it down. "And drove us out. Probably stole our horses, took the colts, drowned the young stock ate the sheep." She quivered with anger at the thought of her neatly arranged home that she had kept for her father and herself being despoiled by Kaldskryke.

"What happened to your father?"

She shrugged; "We were running into the forest but they still followed us; I looked behind me and he was gone. Taken a wrong turning, maybe."

"But then, how did you come to be so close to Jao e-Tinukai'i?"

She shook her head. "I've always had a good sense of direction; I just went in one direction, hoping to get out. I thought if I could get to Erchester, I could find work around the Hayholt; they tell me they are more civilised than Hyrka traders and Black Rimmersmen." Maiara clenched her fists; Jiriki was surprised to hear a strong undercurrent of anger in her voice, something he had never heard before.

"Why," Jiriki stopped; he felt terrible interrogating her like this when he already knew some of the answers. "Why did they think you were evil as well, if your mother wasn't there?"

She smiled grimly, and lowered her eyes. "But you already know, Jiriki, don't you?"

"I can make only guesses, Maiara."

This time her smile was bitter. "Tell me, these guesses."

He did not answer, but cupped her chin in his cool hand and lifted her face to meet his eyes. "Your eyes change. They are a deep purple."

She gently took Jiriki's hand away from her chin, but kept her hand lightly on his palm when it fell back to the bedclothes. "All my life I was persecuted for what I look like – who I am. All humans are the same. You are the first person who has not driven me away from their property with a pitchfork and hunting bow." She watched a blue iris sway in the breeze. "In fact, even the bull that the farmers shared round their farms in the spring were kinder than most humans I've known."

Jiriki felt pity deep in his bones, something unusual; Sithi did not feel the way mortals did; it was not something that the wild, brittle natures of the Zida'ya often felt. Her slender fingers were still lying on his open palm; in the only gesture of comfort he could do,he closed his fingers over her hand and gently squeezed. "Your eyes are beautiful."

They turned a light brown, and she met his eyes. "They aren't. I know that."

"Why are you so ... unconfident? There is nothing the matter with you."

She laughed bitterly, which shocked him; of all the emotions that humans were prone to, bitterness was the least he would have expected in her. "I am not unconfident. I know what I can do and what I can't; I can wash clothes, weave cloth, sew and break in horses. I _am _confident – if I wasn't – well, I would be sitting here with all my body parts intact, most likely."

"They were so cruel?" asked Jiriki, wondering how Seoman managed to rule such subjects as the ones Maiara had known.

"No," she said slowly, eyes fixed on some other thing, "no, the people in the Wealdhelm are not cruel – father decided to live there because of the gentle way they handle their animals – but I think they are easily led. Anyone could have stirred them up, made them hate anything; and we were prime subjects for a Black Rimmersman. But the Hyrka-people ... father wasn't one, you know, but we fitted in for a while and we stayed. They are fierce, but the way they handle their horses is legendary and that is why we settled there."

"Do you miss your family?"

She was startled by the question. "No ... I don't. It feels wrong, that I am safe here and my father may be starving or dead." She was stricken by the thought. "What if he is dead?! I have to find him...!" She tried to get out of bed, but Jiriki pushed her back down.

"No." he said firmly. "I will send out one of the small scouting parties to find him ... it may be bad news, though."

"I realise that, but I would still like to know ... will you really do that?"

"Of course – the Zida'ya do not tell untruths. And I know how it is to lose a relative slowly and painfully."

She stared at him, still holding his hand. "Who?"

"My father, the lord of the House of Year-Dancing; Shima'onari was his name. Nik'ua, the greatest beast ever whelped in the harsh kennels of Sturmspeik killed him. All the Sithi were meeting in the Yasira. She and her master, a Black Rimmersman called Ingen Jegger, came through a powerful Witness and killed both my father and Amerasu Ship-Born."

"Oh Jiriki ..." Bitterness and bad memories forgotten, Maiara crawled out of her covers and over to the Sitha, who, in his turn, was staring out of the window at the Pwll. She sat next to him and curled her arms around his neck and hugged him. He was obviously surprised. "I don't understand half of what you said but ... but if my father was pursued by the villagers when they couldn't find me, then I think he probably met the same fate as your father. I'm so sorry."

And Jiriki could tell that this was not one of the pointless things mortals went through life saying, but a sincere and real sorrow for his loss. He hugged her back, and they sat, his head on her short white hair, facing the open window, watching the fiery sunset over Jao e-Tinukai'i.

--

And a new chapter!! Please review, even if it's anonymous, I love to know what you think. Hope you enjoyed!


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